A novel that reinforces the notion that ‘home’ is more the people in it, than any one place. It is also a novel of loss, love, kindness, friendship, kismet, serendipity, human resilience, and connections to both people and places. Odd you think? Yes, but this just adds to the book’s tender magic. It is a story of conversational trees, and a parrot who does not mimic, but has meaningful discussions. And no, they are not related by blood, but by affection. It is a story about family – two men, a young girl, and a parrot. The scenes in Tuscany make the reader experience the languid pace of a hot Tuscan summer. “ Still Life” is a novel that is best to read slowly, to savour every poetic word. Of mutuality between objects that are there, and people who are not. ![]() “The power of still life lies precisely in this triviality. He too will be a life-long friend to them all. Pete Fine – a talented pianist, aspiring actor, and friend to all at the pensione.Ĭol – owns the ‘Stoat and Parot’ pub in the East End of London where all the characters originated. Also, she has a spectacular singing voice. Peg is beautiful, abrasive, and simultaneously endearing. Her daughter’s physical resemblance to her lost love Eddie, mars her ability to mother the child, so she lets Ulysses take her to live with him in Florence, while she stays behind in London. However, her life-long love for Ulysses remains intact. She has never gotten over Eddie, Alys’s father. Peg Temper – ex-wife of Ulysses and mother of Alys. She is forty years his senior, an art-historian, a lesbian, and they formed a life-long bond upon their acquaintance. She is a precocious, intelligent, and opinionated child who turns into an amazing, courageous, and talented young woman.Ĭlaude – an African blue parrot who is more human than most parrots…Įvelyn Skinner – a woman who Ulysses met during WWII. Though she is not his biological child, he loves her more fiercely that most birth-fathers. Forty years senior in age to Ulysses, he is his partner in his pensione business.Īlys – the daughter of Ulysses’ wife who was conceived when Ulysses was off fighting during WWII. Together they turn the home into a pensione (a small hotel).Ĭressy – dear friend of Ulysses who goes to live with him in Tuscany. He and his older friend, Cressy, along with the parrot and the little girl, drive to Florence in an old van which they affectionately call Betsy. An unexpected inheritance in 1953 sees him owning a large house in Florence, Italy. Ulysses Temper – ex-soldier, ex-husband, from the East End of London. ![]() “The world never turned out the way you wanted it to.
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